Book Review: Just for Show by Jae

Just for Show

Author: Jae
Publisher: Ylva Publishing (February 21, 2018)
Paperback, 312 pages
Goodreads     |     Amazon

Summary
What happens when an overachieving psychologist with OCD tendencies and an impulsive, out-of-work actress start a fake relationship?

Claire Renshaw thought she had it all: a successful career as a couples therapist, a publishing contract for her self-help book, and a happy relationship. But her perfect world falls apart when her fiancée calls off their engagement. Because of that, even her book deal might be off the table. After all, readers don’t want relationship advice from someone who can’t even make her own relationship work.

So Claire sets out to hire herself a fake fiancée.

Lana Henderson, the actress who shows up to audition for the role, is not exactly Claire’s ideal woman. Her frankness and the messes she leaves everywhere drive Claire up the wall. At least she won’t fall in love with someone like Lana.

But soon, Lana starts to win her over with her big heart, tickle fights, and—gasp!—carbs after six. The longer they pretend to be a love-struck couple, the less fake their kisses feel and the more the lines between reality and role begin to blur.

Once the book contract is signed, will they walk away or is their relationship no longer just for show?

A lesbian romance where role-playing has never been so irresistible.

Book Review: Mister Hockey (Hellions Angels #1) by Lia Riley

Mister Hockey

Author: Lia Riley
Series: Hellions Angels, Book 1
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Published: August 22, 2017
Paperback, 222 pages
Goodreads  Amazon

Summary: Her biggest fantasy is about to become a reality. . .

Jed West is Mr. Hockey. The captain of the NHL’s latest winning team, the Denver Hellions–and the hottest player on the ice—at least according to every magazine. .and Breezy Angel. Breezy has been drooling over Jed at games for years, and he plays a starring role in her most toe-curling fantasies. But dirty dreams don’t come true, right?

Then Jed saunters through the doors of her library, a last minute special guest for a summer reading event, and not only is he drop dead gorgeous up close, his personality is straight up swoon-worthy. He even comes to the rescue when she has an R-rated “Super Book Worm” costume malfunction. But when he mistakenly assumes she’s more into books than pucks, she’s too flustered to correct his mistake. And then comes a big kiss, followed by a teensy-tiny problem. Jed’s dating policy is simple: Never date a fan.

So what’s a fangirl going to have to do to convince her ultimate crush that he’s become less of a perfect fantasy, and more like the perfect man. . .for her?

Rating: 5 stars

Review: This book is so crazy good. Not only is Jed a super hot hockey star, he's also a genuinely good guy. Swoon. And like a totally swoon-worthy leading man isn't enough, Breezy is fantastic. I laughed out loud so many times because Breezy reminds me SO MUCH of one of my librarian friends (I'm looking at you, Peekaboo). I actually finished this book and then basically chucked it at said friend's head and commanded she read it. "It's basically a book about you!" (Except she has not yet found her hot hockey god.) So check off both boxes, because swoon for the leading man and melt for the leading lady.

The side characters were also amazing. The conflict between Breezy's sister Neve and Jed's coach Tor makes me shake the book and yell "but why do they hate each other so much!?!?!" (Guess I'm going to find out when I read the next book in the series, mwahaha!) The rest of Breezy's family is great too, and I CAN NOT WAIT to read more about her feisty grandma, with her hockey enthusiasm and her "Green Meanie" mixed drinks. My goal in life is to be a grandma just like Breezy's.

My only issue with this book is that I feel like the main conflict (Jed has a policy that he never dates fans) isn't really spelled out or made a big deal of in the book itself. The only reason I knew this was a big uh-oh for our leading couple is because it IS spelled out in the blurb on the back cover of the book. I think this could have been addressed a bit more directly to make it clear that this is a serious source of conflict, which would make the drama that arises later in the book make more sense and seem a less blown all out of proportion. That being said, oh mama, this book is great.

This is the first book in the series, and upon finishing it I immediately went and bought the next two books, Head Coach and Virgin Territory immediately, so you can expect to see reviews for those books coming soon as well.

Blog Tour: A Prom to Remember by Sandy Hall (Review)

A Prom to Remember

Author: Sandy Hall
Publisher: Fiewel & Friends
Published: April 24, 2018
Kindle, 320 pages
Rating: 5 Stars
★★★★★
Goodreads  Amazon

Summary

Seven seniors, seven problems, one senior prom.

Cora: Head of the Prom Committee (and basically every other club in school). Has been dating Perfect Boyfriend Jamie™ for approximately forever, and has NO IDEA how to break up with him....

Paisley: Sarcastic feminist who wants nothing to do with prom. Has somehow managed to nominate her anxiety-ridden best friend for prom king...

Henry: Quiet ballplayer who hates social situations. Invited to prom by the most popular girl in school. SEND HELP!

Otis: Charming, popular, and one half of one of the cutest couples in his class. Doesn't know how to tell his boyfriend that he's not quite ready for a post-prom hotel room experience...

Lizzie: A little bit shy, and a lot excited to finally get out of her comfort zone and go to prom. With a boy. Whose name she doesn't know.

Cameron: Loner with two jobs and zero friends. Is so done with high school and this whole town: the only thing he still wants to do is meet the mysterious girl who's been leaving him notes...

Jacinta: Unnamed Nerd Girl #3. Determined to become the star of her own life, starting with prom. Now if only she could find a date....

A Prom to Remember, the newest book from Sandy Hall (author of A Little Something Different) is a funny and cinematic look at the biggest dance of every high schooler's life.

Review

This book is so cute. There are about a million main characters, and they're all so different and so great in a wide variety of ways. I am torn if I love Paisley and Henry or Lizzie and Cameron most. Jacinta is also great. Oh, and so is Cora. And also Otis and Luke. And Madison, LOL. …Dangit.

This is told from the point of view of a bunch of different seniors in high school starting when they get back from spring break at the end of April all the way up to their prom night on June 1. (Thankfully NOT in the first person POV, or I'd have gone bonkers trying to follow it…) Normally I'd be a little put off by how MANY "main" characters there are, but they're all such individuals and so interesting. Jacinta feels like a side character in her own life, Paisley and Henry clearly have some social/mental issues (Man, is Paisley fantastic), Cora has been with her boyfriend basically since 7th grade and is just realizing she needs space to discover who she is, Cameron is adjusting to life after closing himself off after his mom remarried, Otis is feeling his way through what it means to be gay in high school with his boyfriend Luke (and what Luke getting a hotel on prom night means for their relationship), Lizzie is a plus-sized worker at a food court restaurant that only sells baked potatoes and has a "double-blind" relationship with someone that she communicates with using only a shared classroom laptop. Who am I forgetting? :D

This book is so light-hearted and fun, like fizzy champagne bubbles and that gooey cheese on bowling alley pizza. That is how this book is. (Yes, I'm aware the description makes little to no sense. Just go with it.) The ending left me smiling a big, dorky grin and wishing I could relive my own prom experience (which involved driving a bunch of friends in my parents' big ugly blue conversion van, and making up dances we called things like "The Giraffe Dance" and "The Llama Dance"). Read this book for a light-hearted, fun, low-angst, quasi-drama-filled read that will leave you feeling all gooey and bubbly. <3

About the Author: Sarah Hall

I’m a teen librarian from New Jersey where I was born and raised. I have a BA in Communication and a Master of Library and Information Science from Rutgers University. When I’m not writing, or teen librarian-ing, I enjoy reading, slot machines, marathoning TV shows, and long scrolls through Tumblr. A LITTLE SOMETHING DIFFERENT is my first novel.

Website Goodreads Facebook Twitter

Book Review: Hurts to Love You (Forbidden Hearts #3) by Alisha Rai

Hurts to Love You

Author: Alisha Rai
Series: Forbidden Hearts, Book 3
Publisher: Avon
Published: March 27, 2018
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Rating: 5 stars
★★★★★
Goodreads  Amazon

Summary: Well-behaved women don’t lust after men who love to misbehave.Heiress Evangeline Chandler knows how to keep a secret . . . like her life-long crush on the tattooed hottie who just happens to be her big brother’s friend. She’s a Chandler, after all, and Chandlers don’t hook up with the help. Then again, they also don’t disobey their fathers and quit their respectable jobs, so good-girl rules may no longer apply.

Gabriel Hunter hides the pain of his past behind a smile, but he can’t hide his sudden attraction to his friend’s sheltered little sister. Eve is far too sweet to accept anything less than forever and there’s no chance of a future between the son of a housekeeper and the town’s resident princess.

When a wedding party forces Eve and Gabe into tight quarters, keeping their hands off each other will be as hard as keeping their clothes on. The need that draws them together is stronger than the forces that should shove them apart . . . but their sparks may not survive the explosion when long-buried secrets are finally unearthed.

Review:
I love Eve and I want to give her a big, huge hug and tell her that everything is going to be OK. Come to think of it, I also want to do the same with Gabe… They're both so amazingly strong and spectacular, while at the same time so very damaged and flawed. I love deep, multi-dimensional characters, and Alisha Rai sure delivers! Bits of their stories and how they came to be the people they are at the start of the story are revealed throughout the book in a way that helps the reader to understand them (and relate to them) on a deeper level, without being slammed with all these facts and details all at once so that it's overwhelming. There is real artistry in Alisha Rai's storytelling and character development, and I love how these leads (as well as their crazy families) grow and change throughout this book.

Hurts to Love You has so many great themes/tropes. I'm not normally a fan of May/December romances, but it really works for Gabe and Eve. There's also some best friend's sibling vibes, as well as childhood crush ones. Then there's the crazy Montague/Capulet thing between the Kanes and Chandlers. Eve's relationship with her father, Gabe's big secret… There are just so many great elements in this story that are masterfully woven together. At times I felt REALLY lost at all the interconnecting histories and relationships of the Kane/Chandler family drama, which I think reading the first two books in the series first might have helped me keep tabs of who is who better.

The heat level of this book is intense. Gabe has a tendency to make Eve say what she wants, as well as giving a verbal play by play of his fantasies, what he's about to do, what he'd like to do, etc. etc. etc. It's well written, a little rough, and HOT. Eve puts it best:

"You're a dirty talker. Like sex closed-captioning."

This is the third book in the series, and while it can be read as a stand alone there are definitely spoilers for the first two books in this one. There are also a LOT of characters with a very tangled family history, so while this can be read as a stand alone, you're probably better off reading the first two books in the series, Hate to Want You and Wrong to Need You, before reading Hurts to Love You (because, let's be honest, you know you're going to end up reading them all anyway.)

Book Review: One and Only (Bridesmaids Behaving Badly #1) by Jenny Holiday

One and Only

Author: Jenny Holiday
Series: Bridesmaids Behaving Badly, Book 1
Publisher: Forever
Published: February 27th 2018
Paperback, 368 pages
Rating: 4 Stars
★★★★☆
Goodreads  Amazon
Summary: In this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday proves that when opposites attract, sparks fly.

Miss Responsibility meets Mr. Reckless
With her bridezilla friend on a DIY project rampage, bridesmaid Jane Denning will do anything to escape - even if it means babysitting the groom's troublemaker brother before the wedding. It should be a piece of cake, except the "cake" is a sarcastic former soldier who is 100% wicked hotness and absolutely off-limits.

Cameron MacKinnon is ready to let loose after returning from his deployment. But first he'll have to sweet talk the ultra-responsible Jane into taking a walk on the wild side. Turns out, riling her up is the best time he's had in years. But what happens when the fun and games start to turn into something real?

Review: OK, for starters, who doesn't love main characters who are into Xena: Warrior Princess? Especially a leading lady who is a YA fantasy author who cosplays Xena for ComicCon? Sold! I'm in.

This was a fun book that also made me tear up several times at the emotional stuff in there. Jane confused me a little bit, because she's fun and flirty and totally bad ass, but also a stick in the mud? I couldn't quite reconcile her character in my mind - which is good, because she's not some cookie cutter stereotype, but instead is a real, diverse human character. Cam is also amazing, and swoon at his white knight thing he's got going on. (I love me a bad boy with a heart of gold. So sue me.) I appreciate that they're both messed up in some ways, and totally great in so many other ways. Also, the sex scenes in this thing. To quote Jane, "OH, MY GOD."

I listened to this on audiobook, and I *mostly* enjoyed the narrator. Her voices for Cam and Jay sounded exactly the same, so in some of the spots where they both had dialogue it got confusing. Other than that, though, she's great. I especially love how many ways she was able to express Jane's tag line, which is "Oh my god!" in such varied ways. (Read it and you will see...) If you're listening to the audiobook on your headphone while at work doing data entry, prepare to blush. A lot.

Book Review: Game of Hearts (Fandom Hearts #3) by Cathy Yardley

 

Rating: 5 Stars

 
Published January 30th 2018 by RYW Publishing
Summary: Kyla Summers has been offered the opportunity of a lifetime to get her cosplay business off the ground, and only one thing stands in her way. She needs someone to take over the auto shop, and there’s only one person she can think of to call…

Jericho Salomon hasn’t been back in his home town since he joined a biker gang and rode off nine years ago. When his best friend’s kid sister calls begging for help, he knows that he owes the family a debt and he intends to pay. This is easier said than done once he finds that the kid is all grown up…

She needs a pair of skillful hands. He needs to keep his hands off. When sparks begin to fly, can they keep things strictly business, or will their hearts get hopelessly tangled? No more games, it’s time to play for keeps.
(from Goodreads)

Review: Gah. I love the Fandom Hearts series so much, and this latest installment is my favorite yet.

Kyla is so badass, and I love that she's amazing with fixing cars and with making costumes. She's strong, feisty, a total geek, and would do anything for her friends and family. I want to be friends with Kyla so badly, haha. I also love a good book about a body positive plus sized character, so it's great to see Kyla embrace her curves and not be trying to change herself to fit some image of whay society or the media or whatever tells us we need to be.

Jericho is also amazing, and I love his story. Plus, who doesn't love a hot biker guy who gets into Game of Thrones thinking Ned Stark is the main character and going to win in the end? Mwahaha!! Oh, my sweet summer child...

This is the 3rd book in the Fandom Hearts series but cam definitely be read as a stand alone with minimal spoilers for the first 2 books. That being said, definitely read the other books in the series too because they're awesome!

Book Review: The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson

Book Review: The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson

Rating: 5 Stars

Published August 15th 2012 by Fire & Ice Books
Summary: Everyone knows how all those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince, falls instantly in love, lives happily ever after and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust.

But what happens when you’re the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect—read pretty, smart, and, worst of all, sickeningly nice—stepsister is dating the charming, tall, devastatingly handsome guy you’ve had a thing for since you were nine years old?

Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her on Skype. Mercedes, the school mean girl, has made it her personal mission to torment Mattie. But worst of all? Her stepsister Ella is the most beautiful, popular girl in school and is dating Mattie’s secret longtime crush, Jake Kingston.

Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own stupid fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She’ll start by running for senior class president against wildly popular Jake.

Ella can keep her Prince Annoying. Mattie’s going to rule the school.

And no one, not even a cute and suddenly flirty Jake, is going to stop her.
(from Goodreads)


Review: I feel like the blurb for this one doesn’t do it justice. Mattie has been in love with Jake since she was 9 and he knocked her off the swing with a rogue kickball to the face. She’s a zaftig gal with pink hair and a love for manga, John Hughes movies, and The Princess Bride. And, ok, I will admit that my love for this book mayyyybe has something to do with feeling a lot like Mattie for most of my life, right down to her fandoms and pink hair, haha. But I digress.

Mattie has some understanding hang-ups that create problems, and there are the obligatory misunderstandings to do timing and unfortunate circumstances. I really appreciated the inclusion of a bonus section at the end that gives the reader things from Jake’s point of view. I almost skipped this section but boy, am I sure glad I read it anyway!! I loved Jake’s take on Mattie, especially the reveal on when he fell for her.

Set in Mattie and Jake’s senior year of high school, this is YA/NA but written in a very relatable way that I thoroughly enjoyed at almost-32.

*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.